Conventional neutron detectors generally include a sealed vessel containing a neutron sensitive gas, such as .sup.3 He or BF.sub.3, and an electrically charged wire having leads which extend outside of the vessel. In operation, incident neutrons react with the gas to produce charged particles which change the electrical potential of the wire. A measurement system coupled to the charged wire measures the electrical pulses and uses this information to indicate the presence of neutrons. These types of neutrons detectors are undesirably bulky and are associated with poor sensitivity resulting from, for example, electronic noise.
Attempts have been made to produce more portable neutron detectors using semiconductors. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,019,886, entitled "Semiconductor-Based Radiation Detector Element", .sup.3 He is diffused into a semiconductor substrate and used in the detection of neutrons. This particular neutron detector is associated with a number of drawbacks, including, for example, high cost and difficult manufacturing.